Nathan Wayne Ariston, a young Filipino from Mindanao with Teduray heritage, has made academic history by graduating cum laude from Yale University with dual degrees in Physics and Mathematics. The achievement is all the more remarkable as he is the first graduate from Philippine Science High School–Central Mindanao Campus (PSHS-CMC) to complete a degree at the Ivy League institution.
Ariston, the son of a public school teacher and a farmer, was earlier awarded a full scholarship that covered all his expenses at Yale. He was also honored with the prestigious Howard L. Schultz Prize, which recognizes outstanding undergraduate achievement.
He first made headlines in 2021 when he received admission offers from top universities in the U.S. and Singapore, including the Georgia Institute of Technology, UC Irvine, and Nanyang Technological University. But it was Yale’s reputation and community that ultimately drew him in.
